While the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals' 2024 EDGE Conference & Exhibition is coming to a close on Wednesday, October 2, in Nashville, Tennessee, mark your calendars for next year's premier supply chain event.
The 2025 conference will take place in National Harbor, Maryland. To register for next year's event—and take advantage of an early-bird discount of $600**—visit https://www.cscmpedge.org/website/62261/edge-2025/.
**EDGE EARLY BIRD Terms & Conditions: Promotion is for the EDGE 2025 conference in National Harbor, Maryland. Offer valid for Premier and Basic Members only. Offer excludes Student, Young Professional, Educator, and Corporate registration types. Offer limited to one per customer. Offer is not retroactive and may not be combined with other offers. Offer is nontransferable and may not be resold. Valid through October 31, 2024.
Weather conditions in central Florida are forecasted to rapidly improve throughout the day as Hurricane Milton spins out into the Atlantic, leaving behind a trail of wind and flood damage.
Nurtured by historically hot waters in the Gulf of Mexico, the furious storm was stronger than Hurricane Katrina at peak pressure, and registered the lowest barometric pressure—and thus the most destructive storm power—in the Gulf since Hurricane Wilma in 2005, according to analysis by Everstream Analytics.
Fortunately, it weakened slightly to a Category 3 hurricane by the time it made landfall in Siesta Key, just south of Tampa Bay, at 8:30 pm on Wednesday night. However, extremely heavy rainfall totals caused major flooding in the northern portion of that region, soaking Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater. It also triggered storm surge levels of 4-9 feet, and spun off scores of tornadoes. The National Weather Service issued 126 tornado warnings in Florida on October 9 alone, which was the most in Florida history.
Supply chain impacts of that weather are occurring largely where the flooding hit, and have caused major disruptions on port operations, roads, rails, air travel, and interruptions to business operations – possibly for an extended period. The interior sections of Florida will also likely have significant impacts via overland and river/creek flooding and damaging winds (fallen trees), according to Jon Davis, chief meteorologist, Everstream Analytics.
As the weather clears, businesses in the citrus belt of central/southern Florida will also start to measure the damage. At this time of year, most of the citrus remains unharvested on the trees, so the impact on crop yields could be severe. And Davis says that tree damage is always the biggest concern since it impacts production for years.
But the group also warned that the true rebuilding process usually lags behind the initial emergency response. “During the first 48 to 72 hours after a hurricane, most of the work on the ground is focused on search and rescue efforts,” Kathy Fulton, ALAN’s Executive Director, said in a release. “Because of this, ALAN usually doesn’t receive the first substantial wave of donated logistics requests until after that, when humanitarian organizations can get in, conduct their initial assessments, and determine what’s most needed.”
“We know that can be frustrating for organizations that want to do something tangible as soon as possible. But we hope they will still be willing to provide their logistics help when the need arises, whether it’s in a few days, a few months – or even beyond that,” Fulton said. “The devastation Hurricane Milton and its many tornadoes have caused is heartbreaking. We mourn for those who have lost family members, pets and homes, and we are already working hand-in-hand with various non-profit partners to deliver help.”
Editor's note:This article was revised on October 10 to add input from ALAN.
The North American robotics market saw a decline in both units ordered (down 7.9% to 15,705 units) and revenue (down 6.8% to $982.83 million) during the first half of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, as North American manufacturers faced ongoing economic headwinds, according to a report from the Association for Advancing Automation (A3).
“Rising inflation and borrowing costs have dampened spending on robotics, with many companies opting to delay major investments,” said Jeff Burnstein, president, A3. “Despite these challenges, the push for operational efficiency and workforce augmentation continues to drive demand for robotics in industries such as food and consumer goods and life sciences, among others. As companies navigate labor shortages and increased production costs, the role of automation is becoming ever more critical in maintaining global competitiveness.”
The downward trend was led by weakness in automotive manufacturing, which traditionally leads the charge in buying robots. In the first half of 2024, automotive OEMs ordered 4,159 units (up 14.4%) but generated revenue of $259.96 million (down 12.0%). The Automotive Components sector was even worse, orders 3,574 units (down 38.8%) for $191.93 million in revenue (down 27.3%). Declines also happened in the Semiconductor & Electronics/Photonics sector and the Plastics & Rubber sector.
On the positive side, Food & Consumer Goods companies ordered 1,173 units (up 85.6%) for $62.84 million in revenue (up 56.2%). This growth reflects the increasing reliance on robotics for efficiency in food processing and packaging as companies seek to address labor shortages and rising costs, A3 said. And the Life Sciences industry ordered 1,007 units (up 47.9%) for revenue of $47.29 million (up 86.7%) as it continued its reliance on robotics for efficiency and precision.
Economic activity in the logistics industry expanded for the 10th straight month in September, reaching its highest reading in two years, according to the latest Logistics Managers’ Index (LMI) report, released this week.
The LMI registered 58.6, up more than two points from August’s reading and its highest level since September 2022.
The LMI is a monthly measure of business activity across warehousing and transportation markets. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, and a reading below 50 indicates contraction.
The September data is proof the industry is “back on solid footing” according to the LMI researchers, who pointed to expanding inventory levels driven by a long-expected restocking among retailers gearing up for peak-season demand. That shift is also reflected in higher rates of both warehousing and transportation prices among retailers and other downstream firms—a signal that “retail supply chains are whirring back into motion” for peak.
“The fact that peak season is happening at all should be a bit of a relief for the logistics industry—and economy as a whole—since we have not really seen a traditional seasonal peak since 2021,” the researchers wrote. “… or possibly even 2019, if you don’t consider 2020 or 2021 to be ‘normal.’”
The East Coast dock worker strike earlier this week threatened to complicate that progress, according to LMI researcher Zac Rogers, associate professor of supply chain management at Colorado State University. Those fears were eased Thursday following a tentative agreement between the union and port operators that would put workers at dozens of ports back on the job Friday.
“We will have normal peak season demand—our first normal seasonality year in the 2020s,” Rogers said in a separate interview, noting that the port of New York and New Jersey had its busiest month on record this past July. “Inventories are moving now, downstream. That, to me, is an encouraging sign.”
The LMI is a monthly survey of logistics managers from across the country. It tracks industry growth overall and across eight areas: inventory levels and costs; warehousing capacity, utilization, and prices; and transportation capacity, utilization, and prices. The report is released monthly by researchers from Arizona State University, Colorado State University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rutgers University, and the University of Nevada, Reno, in conjunction with the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP).
Dockworkers at dozens of U.S. East and Gulf coast ports are returning to work tonight, ending a three-day strike that had paralyzed the flow of around 50% of all imports and exports in the United States during ocean peak season.
The two groups “have reached a tentative agreement on wages and have agreed to extend the Master Contract until January 15, 2025 to return to the bargaining table to negotiate all other outstanding issues. Effective immediately, all current job actions will cease and all work covered by the Master Contract will resume,” the joint statement said.
Talks had broken down over the union’s twin demands for both pay hikes and a halt to increased automation in freight handling. After the previous contract expired at midnight on September 30, workers made good on their pledge to strike, and all activity screeched to a halt on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday this week.
Business groups immediately sang the praises of the deal, while also sounding a note of caution that more work remains.
The National Retail Federation (NRF) cheered the short-term contract extension, even as it urged the groups to forge a longer-lasting pact. “The decision to end the current strike and allow the East and Gulf coast ports to reopen is good news for the nation’s economy,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said in a release. “It is critically important that the International Longshoremen’s Association and United States Maritime Alliance work diligently and in good faith to reach a fair, final agreement before the extension expires. The sooner they reach a deal, the better for all American families.”
Likewise, the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) said it was relieved to see positive progress, but that a final deal wasn’t yet complete. “Without the specter of disruption looming, the U.S. economy can continue on its path for growth and retailers can focus on delivering for consumers. We encourage both parties to stay at the negotiating table until a final deal is reached that provides retailers and consumers full certainty that the East and Gulf Coast ports are reliable gateways for the flow of commerce.”
And the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) commended the parties for coming together while also cautioning them to avoid future disruptions by using this time to reach “a fair and lasting agreement,” NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons said in an email. “Manufacturers are encouraged that cooler heads have prevailed and the ports will reopen. By resuming work and keeping our ports operational, they have shown a commitment to listening to the concerns of manufacturers and other industries that rely on the efficient movement of goods through these critical gateways,” Timmons said. “This decision avoids the need for government intervention and invoking the Taft-Hartley Act, and it is a victory for all parties involved—preserving jobs, safeguarding supply chains, and preventing further economic disruptions.”
Supply chain planning (SCP) leaders working on transformation efforts are focused on two major high-impact technology trends, composite AI and supply chain data governance, according to a study from Gartner, Inc.
"SCP leaders are in the process of developing transformation roadmaps that will prioritize delivering on advanced decision intelligence and automated decision making," Eva Dawkins, Director Analyst in Gartner’s Supply Chain practice, said in a release. "Composite AI, which is the combined application of different AI techniques to improve learning efficiency, will drive the optimization and automation of many planning activities at scale, while supply chain data governance is the foundational key for digital transformation.”
Their pursuit of those roadmaps is often complicated by frequent disruptions and the rapid pace of technological innovation. But Gartner says those leaders can accelerate the realized value of technology investments by facilitating a shift from IT-led to business-led digital leadership, with SCP leaders taking ownership of multidisciplinary teams to advance business operations, channels and products.
“A sound data governance strategy supports advanced technologies, such as composite AI, while also facilitating collaboration throughout the supply chain technology ecosystem,” said Dawkins. “Without attention to data governance, SCP leaders will likely struggle to achieve their expected ROI on key technology investments.”